A REVOLUTIONARY ANTI-CAPITALIST PAPER IN ZIMBABWE
November-December 2010
Socialist Worker!
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2010 BUDGET
WORKING CLASS BEWARE
OF A BOGUS BUDGET.
Elitist Budget is not for us, it is for Politicians,
the Rich, elites and capitalists
The 2011 national budget by Minister of Finance
Mr. Tendai Biti had positive gains for the social
services, i.e., health and education. But it would
be naïve to pretend not to see the thinly veiled
attack upon the poor unleashed in the Budget
presentation on Thursday 25 November 2010. We
seek to expose the hypocrisy behind the publicity
that was so over-zealously praised by the bourgeoisie media and politicians as pro-poor especially basing on a paltry handout that was promised civil servants and the nation.
The conclusion is
that action works.
Jambanja ndizvo.
Biti was against salary increments to
Now further action is more necessary these civil servants the whole year
than ever if we are to beat the Poverty
datum line which is still a further $200 away. Fur- In this Issue
thermore Biti‘s Budget statement has remained
virtually silent on the salaries of MPs and Judges. Beware of bogus
These were just removed from the civil servants‘
Budget…. Page 1
Salary Services Bureau but we were not told their
salaries. We Demand fairness, transparency and
French Strikes..2
justice, Mr Biti! Tell us how much are they taking
The salary increments to public sector workers did from the tax payers please , hopefully you agree Egypt & Cuba...3
not come on a silver platter neither does it fool with us since you are from a democratic moveZinasu Fresh
anyone to think Biti and the ruling class have any ment.
benevolence in them especially after the minister
Start…………..4
gained notoriety for advocating for a wage freeze Student Loan Fund. The birth pangs of privatisation
early this year. Indeed the 100% salary increase
University of
came as a result of massive struggles carried out Biti promised to resuscitate the Student Loan scheme,
by civil servants for the major part of this year. As to that end he set up $15 million. Never could he have Zimbabwe…….5
a comparison the private sector workers whose found a more explicit way of privatising tertiary educastruggles were less keen only saw at most a 10% tion than what he exposed in his budget presentation. COPAC………..6
salary increment. To further expose Biti‘s cunning, Students might celebrate but they need only question
he set the tax-free threshold at $225.Predcisely why the government has decided to partner itself with a ISO Split………7
that‘s where him and his fellow ruling class scum bank if it was so sympathetic. From experience banks
A Long Walk to
desired the salary scale to be (if only it weren‘t for would be vey crucial when it comes to following up on
next years polls and the militants demonstrated by creditors (read poor students) .And we need not men- Freedom….....10
tion commercial bank rates!Page 8
government employees this year.)
Vashandi VePasi Rino Batanai! Vasebenzi Vomhlaba Vambanani!
WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE!
News of the World
MPAWUZ
Workers Go on
Strike at Lancet
Labs.
Lancet Laboratories (formerly Clinical
Laboratory) workers downed their tools
down during the first weeks of November
over pay increase .The strike was conducted after the Lancet bosses management declined to negotiate with workers‘
legitimate demands for cost of living
adjustment .The bosses denied to award
salary increment and unilaterally froze
workers salaries for a period of six
months on the reasons that they intended to expand the company premises
during the said six months .Workers were
saying that expansion was not a priority
considering their low salaries .They were
demanding an adjustment of 30% and a
housing allowance of $100 .Currently the
lowest paid worker is earning $386 inclusive of transport.
There is great need for workers to mobilize and strengthen themselves to put a
stop to victimization in all sectors of our
medical industry and build a campaign
against victimization of workers leaders
as bosses are likely to go on victimizing
workers thus killing the workers struggle.
Shinga Mushandi Shinga.
Credit goes to the militant Lancet workers
as they had sent a clear message to
other bosses throughout the country that
its now pay back time, MUSHANDI
AMUKA
Tecla Shingai
Medical Proffesional & Allied Workers
Union of Zimbabwe(MPAWUZ)
FRENCH WORKERS AND STUDENTS
STRONG AGAINST THE STATE
Millions of French workers, Sarkozy calculated that the
supported by students, joined protesters would become
weary and demoralised and their leaders
betray the struggle
whilst students go on
holidays. But this was
by no means inevitable, as shown by the
thousands of school
and university students who took to the
streets across France
in a day of protest. ―In
2006 the holidays did
not stop the revolution
French Students take to the streets against the CPE ‗first
job‘ contract which
strikes and marches against targeted young people—and
plans to savage their pensions protest went on to win then,‖
with France's right wing gov- Djamila, a school student from
ernment trying harsh state Paris, told Socialist Worker.
repression to break this huge ―We‘re all going on the streets
movement.
this week‖.
President Nicolas Sarkozy ―It‘s about pensions, it‘s about
unleashed his attack dogs— young people not getting jobs
the riot police to carry out because workers are kept on
physical assaults on pickets at into their old age, it‘s about
oil refineries. This was backed Sarkozy‘s dirty government.
up by the threat of long periods We
have
a
slogan—
in jail for those who dared defy ‗Unemployed at 25, exploited
them. The army was also used at 67. No! No! No!‘‖
to break some of the strikes.
What was needed to win was
At the time of going to press, to build for an open-ended
parliament had passed the general strike, as the militancy
pension laws which Sarkozy and support was there. One of
immediately signed into law. the storm centres of the revolt
One of the reasons why the was the giant Grandpuits oil
government was successful refinery near Paris. A CGT
was the failure of the union union member told Socialist
leaders to escalate the strikes Worker about the attacks they
and demonstrations. Instead have faced—and their determithey sought to wind these nation to keep fighting.
down.
He said, ―Early in the morning
The new laws will rise the mini- on Friday of last week the pomum pension age to 62—and lice came to clear away our
67 for many workers—as well blockade at Grandpuits. We
as to increase the amount have been on strike, and occuworkers have to pay in.
pying the site, since 11 Octo-
STAND
ber as part of the revolt against
Sarkozy. We know we are in
the frontline, that our pressure
is the biggest one on the government. Over the last fortnight
we have built up a list of other
workers and local residents
that we can call on in an emergency.
―So when the cops came we
quickly had nearly 100 people
defending our blockade. It was
fantastic, real solidarity. For a
while the police withdrew. But
then they came back in greater
numbers. Eventually they
broke our blockade—using the
strongest violence. They injured three of our members,
one of them seriously.
―All this was backed up by a
court order to ‗requisition‘
workers. This says you could
be jailed for up to five years if
you don‘t go back to work. It‘s
said to be about ‗defending the
national interest‘. It‘s about
class power. Under this threat
we had to resume loading
some oil supplies. But we‘re
not giving up. Now we‘ve
moved a little away from the
plant and are trying to block
roads. We‘ve had some success. There are still big petrol
shortages. Really we need
everyone out. The government
should not be allowed to get
away with taking away our right
to strike.
Even if defeated for now,
French workers and students
have shown the way forward in
tackling neoliberalism ... struggle is the only way forward.
Edited copy of article by Charlie
Kimber – Socialist Worker PartyUK
P AGE 3
EGYPT:
Tension reaches boiling point
The tensions in Egypt are reaching boiling point. The
crisis of the regime is reflected in a number of splits
and growing opposition. The emergence of Mohamed
Elbaradei on the political scene signifies an important
change in the struggle against the regime. Until now,
the masses have lacked a national point of reference
to connect up the different struggles, but this is now
changing.
Revolution is developing just beneath the surface.
In the Middle East, Egypt is a key country. Not only is it
the most populated Arab country and a strategic pillar
of support for imperialism, it also has a
strong working class with militant traditions. Over the
last few years, the Mubarak dictatorship has been
shaken by strikes and protests, but it has become
increasingly clear that all factors are pointing in the
direction of revolution.
The economic situation in Egypt is becoming more
acute and unbearable as each day passes.
Booming inflation eats into the living standard of the
masses, while a small elite of wealthy bankers, industrialists and state bureaucrats continue to enrich themselves as is happening in Zimbabwe The gap between
rich and poor is as big as ever and while wages have
been stagnating, prices have soared.
Elbaradei has called for boycotting the parliamentary
elections in November. At an iftar meal to celebrate the
end of Ramadan, Elbaradei told 200 activists
that: ―Anyone who participates in the vote, either as a
candidate or as a voter, goes against the national will.‖
He urged ―civil disobedience‖ to force the
regime to grant political reforms. ―If the whole people
boycott the elections totally, it will be, in my view, the
end of the regime,‖ he said, adding that he will not
stand for President if democratic reforms are not introduced.
For the masses, this is seen as a call for mobilisation.
They sense that Elbaradei‘s campaign can be a vehicle
for protest and a force to carry through
their demands by uniting against the regime in a national campaign.
. The demands for an end to the State of Emergency,
the right to organise unions, fair elections and so on
are demands that are supported wholeheartedly
by the Marxists. At the same time, it must be made
clear that in order to fight against the dictatorship; one
must fight against the material forces upholding
it: the capitalist class, the top bureaucracy in the state
and the army, as well as foreign capital and interests of
imperialism.
The situation in Egypt is pregnant with revolution.. A
ferocious fight will open up within the ruling elite. But
the overthrow of dictatorship in Egypt will not solve all
issues. On the contrary, it will mostly serve to pose
them even more sharply. No form of
bourgeois democracy will be able to solve the
question of price hikes, poverty, unemployment,
military regime and in fact even the very question of bread. These are only questions that can
be fully solved only when the whole system of
capitalism and private property is abolished.
The period up to the presidential elections will be
one of reparation for the revolutionary events
which are to come. The Egyptian revolution will
dramatically change the course of events in the
Middle East, North Africa and on a world scale.
By Hamid Alizadeh and Frederik Ohsten
UK & EUROPE
Students Revolt & Fight
Education Cuts
Students defy police in UK recently
These days are the days of revolt—and it
is right to revolt. Across Britain young
people rose up against the attacks on
education.
UK students have revolted against £9,000
university fees, the closing off of universities to all but the rich, and the abolition of
the EMA allowance that 16-18 year olds
rely on to go to college. It is also about the
way the Tories are ripping up people‘s
futures. It showed that the angry march
and the occupation of Tory headquarters
on 10 November was not a one-off event.
There were as many if not more people
involved this time than last time. And it
wasn‘t just in London.
There were major protests in Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow, Manchester, Oxford, Liverpool, Sheffield, Brighton, Newcastle and
many others. Tens of thousands of students, especially school students, took to
universities are being closed off to them by
soaring fees. They know the cuts mean that
only a few will get more than low-paid jobs.
What does the government expect them to
do—wave dole cards in joyous celebration of
the royal wedding?Working class young people are getting hammered—and that‘s why
they‘re fighting back.We know of at least 15
colleges where there have been student occupations. This is a great way to carry forward the fight.
The anger we have seen in Europe—in
Greece, France and Portugal—has now
come to London twice in a month. There will
be much more protest in the future.Wednesday‘s fightback was the right
response to a government for the rich by the
rich. The vicious budget rammed through in
Ireland at the same time as the student protests gives a sense of the future here unless
there is resistance.Wednesday‘s protest must
be a launchpad for further resistance. We
need to make Tory education secretary Michael Gove choke on his words that this government isn‘t going to listen to street protests.
There need to be occupations and further big
protests before Christmas. These will be
discussed at a national co-ordination meeting
of students this Sunday, 28 November (see
page 4).But the resistance can‘t be left to
students and school students. Everyone
needs to join the fightback. Trade union leaders have made speeches against the government. We need action to stop the hurricane of
attacks on working people.The Tories and
their lackey Lib Dem allies have launched
class war. It‘s time for us all to fight back.
Protest across Europe
On Wednesday other workers and students
were also fighting back.A general strike
shook Portugal, where the government wants
to slash public sector wages. Joao Proenca,
head of the UGT union federation said, ―If the
fight against the deficit sinks the country, we
have achieved nothing.‖In Italy some students stormed the senate after a march
through Rome against education cuts. One
declared, ―Today we are taking back our
future.‖
In Ireland, the government unveiled a brutal
package of cuts to pay for its latest IMF bailout. This will slash welfare by £2.5 billion,
increase student fees and cut the public sector pay bill by £1 billion—yet corporation tax
remains a low 12.5 percent.Protesters in
Dublin forced the Merrion Hotel, where IMF
representatives are staying, to close. A huge
demonstration is planned for
Saturday .www.socialistworker.co.uk(29 November 2010)
STUDENTS PAGE
Z INASU ON F RESH START 2011 CAMPAIGN
Continued From PAGE 1
ZINASU President
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) at
a historical student convention held from the 1315 August at the traditional YWCA Kambuzuma
Harare collectively resolved among other things
that all institutions of higher learning must close
forthwith until solemn reforms are ushered in the
education sector.
The union‘s position has been received with
mixed feelings by all the stakeholders of the education sector. The position is however a principled position that deserves to be unanimously
embraced by all in the interest of national building . (Continued on PAGE 3)
assumed comfort, normalizing the abnormal scenario.
A radical stance is therefore imperative to force all
stakeholders to revive funding towards education.
ZINASU has been forcing institutions to allow all
students to write exams with or without paying fees.
The union has come to the realization that this is
unsustainable if government and the rest of the corporate world do not chip in to fund education. The students of Zimbabwe expect all college authorities to
support the noble cause of temporarily closing institutions and awaken responsible authorities (the government and corporate world) to shoulder their responsibility of funding education.
ZINASU‘s piecemeal measures of protesting against
individual college authorities have not been yielding
Institutions of higher learning are being forced to operate
mainly from funds received from the disadvantaged students
and insignificant funds from the government. Most students
are failing to pay the fees and this has over the years weakened the capacity of these institutions to deliver quality education. The few students who can afford to pay fees are not
getting value for their money as their funds alone are not
enough to revitalize the education sector.
Access to Free education to be infringed in
the bill of rights
An education commission that is non partisan to be established, that will appoint all
state Vice Chancellors and Principals in
state institutions to be established in the
new constitution
Education has been a key for the majority of Zimbabweans to
escape from the vicious circle of absolute poverty. Today the
disadvantaged but deserving majority are being denied Higher
education due to the discriminatory fee structures that were
set by the contemporary insensitive inclusive regime. The
sons and daughters of both the working class and the peasant
farmers have now been relegated to a life of perpetual poverty. The talented but poor will not peacefully coexist with
those who illegitimately amassed wealth at their expense.
The capacities of institutions of higher learning have been
weakened over the years because of under funding. The
quality of graduates that are being produced is compromised
and this will destroy the capacity of our industries to drive our
economy to greater heights. The nation is turning a blind eye
to the sad reality that all is not well in the education sector and
our government is now living in an
To correct all the ills raised above it is therefore vital
that the radical but progressive stance of forcing the
closure of all institutions be executed ―by any means
necessary‖ and drag all stakeholders to a
roundtable discussion. The products of
such an engagement will be (a) More
funding for the education sector culminating
in free education for deserving students (b)
Accountable administrators that will not
abuse funds meant to develop our campuses (c) A curricular compatible to the
realities of our society (d) The reinstatement of all suspended and expelled students including reparations for these traumatized victims and respect for academic
rights and freedoms (e) Professional administrators appointed on the basis of merit
not loyalty to support the demands of
ZINASU in the new constitution that are
FREE EDUCATION FOR ALL!
The state of the higher education sector is recipe of future
social havoc as it is creating a society of illegitimate inequalities. The current state of the education sector is also unsustainable.
The incumbent political and economic leaders of Zimbabwe
are all products of free tertiary education and they climbed the
social ladder from the most disadvantaged communities to the
affluent of society through education. Denying the talented
poor majority the right to education is denying Zimbabwe the
able leaders that can transform our economy and change the
fortunes of our troubled nation. The Robert Mugabes, Tendai
Bitis and Strive Masiiwas of this generation are in Manzimnyama, Dotito and Chicualacuala where they can hardly
afford a decent meal let alone the $US600 that is being demanded for them to enroll as a Law, Medicine or Economics
student at any state University in Zimbabwe. But still education has to be funded.
The governance of state institutions is partisan this has
resulted in unbridled victimization of all students who
are thought to be against Mugabe who is chancellor of
all universities. 70% of the university councils of all state
institutions are all political appointees. We were hoping
that the coming in of the inclusive government would
initiate reforms to these anomalies since the appointment of all senior civil servants is supposed to be by
consensus by all principals in the Inter Party Agreement. There is however no debate to this regard and
Mugabe continue to unilaterally appoint Vice Chancellors and members of University council.
results since it has only resulted in students being
suspended and expelled worsening the condition of
the already affected students. The students are the
major stakeholder in the tertiary institutions and
peacefully withdrawing will put to a halt all operations
and necessitate dialogue. We hold the key to our
emancipation!
The administrators in our institutions have failed to
institute measures that ensure transparency and
accountability in the way they manage funds and this
has scared away potential sponsors from our education sector. Tertiary institutions have been rocked with
numerous incidence of corruption and this is not
healthy for a sector that desperately needs significant
funding from the corporate world.
The capitalist curricular that is being dished out in
tertiary institutions is also alien to the realities of our
society as a nation. The graduates that are being
produced are materialistic and self serving and they
are not of much value to our nation in this period of
rebuilding.
An educational policy that will be an Act of
Parliament, to be crafted by all interested
parties that includes, college authorities,
student leaders [ZINASU] and all SRC
leadership of all forty four tertiary institutions in Zimbabwe. Representatives from
the Ministry of education sports and culture
and Ministry of higher and tertiary education, the policy will seek to redress students
grievances‘ such as
In pursuing this noble cause our just cause we neither
seek to please anyone nor await for approval from any
quarters beyond our lecture rooms but we remain
guided by our desire to see a robust and just education
system.
ZINASU is rolling out a campaign to implement the
resolution of the 13-15 August convention to bring a
fresh start in the education sector by 2011.The ZINASU
revolutionary train will move around the country beginning on a massive sensitization and mobilization drive
as we seek to implement the 13-15 August resolution.
The revolution is underway stand up and be counted.
Together we can smash privatization!!!
Cde Obert Masaraure is the President of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU)
S OCIALIST W ORKER !
P AGE 5
2010 in Brief.
Students Suspended for Activism!
Students Union, University of
Zimbabwe: White Elephant or
No Future Under fascism?
The fascist administrations running university and
college education in Zimbabwe have lately demonstrated the full extent of their hatred for student
activism when on 08 November 2010; the Pro-Vice
Chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe(UZ)Prof.
Chipo Dyanda indefinitely suspended the acting
chairperson of the Student Representative Assembly, Tinashe Chisaira for calling for Students Union
elections. The charge stated that the third year law
student had not consulted the Dean of Students
first despite the absence of such a provision in the
Constitution of the Students Union.
Furthermore the year 2010 has seen the suspension of a total of three students for standing up
against injustice at UZ alone. In April Joshua Chinyere and Wisdom Mgagara were given two-year
suspension for showing solidarity with Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) students who
had been denied the right to wrote exams. In that
demonstration also, Ian Makone and Tashinga
Mudzengi were given one-year suspensions from
BUSE. Then in August Tryvine Musokera and Ste-
other students in Masvingo.
ven Tshuma were suspended from
the Midlands State University for leading a student demonstration. In November again Zivanai Muzorodzi was
fined by the Great Zimbabwe University for activism and solidarity with
However students must not
be intimidated by such fascist
onslaughts upon their rights.
No more students should be
victimized for standing up to
a system that is so cowardly
and demonic to deny them
independent unionism .Students Union have
been crucial in Hungary, South Africa, Yugoslavia in the struggles
against totalitarianism and fascism.
Reinstate All Expelled and Suspended Student Activists Now! Students unite and fight for your future
You Are All Invited!
A Day of revolutionary discussions and debates.
Marxism 2010
11 DECEMBER
Crossroads House, 43 J. Nyerere Way, Harare
Theme:
DEFENDING THE REAL MARXIST TRADITIONS & THE FIGHT FOR SOCIALISM IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Speakers from International Socialist Organization, Social Movements, Trade Unions ,ZINASU & Many More.
Adm $1 (Inc Lunch)
Contact: 04-704 209 E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
Karl Marx()
L OCAL
P AGE 6
NEWS
COPAC PROCESSES A SHAM!
The aftermaths of Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) consultations in Harare and Chitungwiza have left everyone in a dilemma. The prevailing
position of most pro-democracy groups locally and
internationally as well as the Zimbabwean populace
has been that the constitutional process will usher in a
new season of stability and progress whilst laying the
foundation for an acceptable political dispensation.
But Alas! The blinkers are falling off and a more sober
analysis of the situation can now expose the futility
and folly of the Global Political Agreement (GPA)
arrangement imposed on the working people of Zimbabwe.
to repel neo-liberal policies which appear
to be the cornerstones of the GNU`s ecoThe next fundamental stage is the draftnomic policy.
ing stage where a draft will be presented
to Parliament for debate and issuance to DUF will conclude the final stage with
a referendum. It is still imperative for COPAC and use the referendum as the
working people to continue mobilizing and first launch of a bitter fight against neofighting for the right to strike and freedom
liberalism which struggle will go beyond
of assembly so as to pave way for more
direct confrontational approach in the the constitutional making process. Aluta
struggle for bread and butter issues and Continua! By Cde Simukai
ments such as abortion and gay rights.
Violence and Consultations.
In statistics availed by COPAC in their bulletin, about
95% of the consultations were successfully done and
5% were marred by political violence and intimidation
mainly by ZANU-PF. Harare and Chitungwiza were
the worst scenarios resulting in the death of two MDC
activists in Mbare, beatings, journalist-barring and
arrests .The MDC in most cases was greatly disorganized and no proper mobilization was done as the
party relied on hiring teams instead of appealing for
popular support in its own back yard. On the other
hand ZANU-PF went all on a full offensive bussing
hooligans, drilling cadres on key party positions to
defend as well as harassment and intimidation methods to cow the any opposition into submission. Consequently the positions which got recorded are those
of ZANU-PF .As a result the MDC are being forced to
fight and advocate for an unpopular and elitist position
of a negotiated constitution as opposed to a ‗peopledriven` constitution. This is unfortunately coming out
well for Mugabe and ZANU-PF as this will give them
ammunition for their usual populist rhetoric.
Democratic United Front (DUF)
The Take Charge coalition of the civil society led by
the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) and the
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) has
found some level of vindication for their position of
non-engagement in the COPAC process. A section of
the working people under the banner of the Democratic United Front (DUF) campaigned vigorously for
the inclusion of socio-economic rights in the Bill of
Rights. Their red posters in and around the city centre
caught the attention of the state newspaper The Herald. A feedback meeting organized by DUF exposed
the disgusting disregard for working people` s issues
by both ZANU-PF and MDC-T who focused mainly on
power grabbing gymnastics and diversionary argu-
Riot police drive people
from a Copac outreach
venue
COPAC VIOLENCE...
Fascist ZRP & Zanu PF thugs bash ISO comrades at COPAC Meeting.
Five comrades were attacked by Zanu PF
thugs at a COPAC outreach meeting held
at Hatcliffe Hall on Sunday 31 October
2010.International Socialist Organisation
members Peter Garanewako (Harare
Poly), James Katso (UZ), Malvern Hobwana (ZINASU Harare Chair), Tinashe
Mutyaso (UZ) and Cde Zengeya (Mbare)
were chased from the outreach venue by
Zanu Pf thugs who had been angered by
the comrades‘ outspokenness .The five
fled back to seek refuge from the police.
But the police inhumanely ordered them
to go back and face the bloodthirsty ruling
party supporters. When the comrades
tried to plead for police protection, they
were then detained for public violence!
They were taken to ZRP Hatcliffe where
they were held from 1600hrs till midnight.
They were then released without being
charged and told to come back the following morning.
On Monday they were warned in the
presence of their lawyers that the police
will proceed by way of summons.Commenting on the conduct of the
fascist police and thugs, Cde Mutyaso
said,'Zanu PF must not monopolise the
constitution. Anyone should and must
give their views. A Constitution is not
someone's‘ breakfast document!‖
This unprofessional pattern of fascist
ZRP conduct is neither new nor surprising. During the past abandoned COPAC
outreach meetings in September, Cde
Tecla Shingai (ISO Gender Coordinator)
was detained in Sunningdale for exercising her right to be heard during a constitutional meeting. We say no to the presence of partisan fascist police and youth
militias at public gatherings
S OCIALIST W ORKER !
P AGE 7
ISO SPLIT:
MUTERO AND TIGWE AT EACH OTHER’S THROATS...
OUTGROWTH OF OPPORTUNISM
Cunning hypocrisy!
Although we do not want to waste any time on
the counter- revolution that split our International
Socialist Organisation (ISO) in late 2008, recent
happenings in the turncoats camp merit some
comments.
Were there any convincing ideological reasons
for Cdes Mutero and Tigwe to lead a split from
the ISO or it was merely high time for opportunists to leave and hunt for their plunder elsewhere? Recent events utterly expose the slanders and cunning hypocrisy that preceded their
departure from ISO.
What`s happening to the “pure revolutionaries” now?
Within two years the breakaway comrades have
―hitch-hiked‖ from one tendency to another. What
are they looking for? They left ISO to form what
they called ISO Zimbabwe. Then they joined the
Leninist International Fraction (FLTI), then the
Revolutionary International League –Fourth International ( RIL-FI) in their nomadic chase for
money and opportunities.
Now they have split again, the Mutero faction
has remained RIL-FI whilst and the Tigwe, Manjonjo and Chidavaenzi led faction has turned ISO
–ZIM again. What confusion! Reasons for the
split are none other than monetary gain and
political opportunism. Mutero accuses Tigwe of
stealing US$6 000 from a poor people‘s housing
co-operative in Glen Norah, as well as being an
MDC-T front and hitching up with a splinter
grouping of the FLTI in the USA and New Zealand in order to get money. Tigwe in turn accuses Mutero of unilaterally changing the name
of the organisation to RIL-FI in order to get a
salary as part of the FLTI African secretariat, and
also getting money under false pretence that he
had been evicted from his house for political
reasons and that he is a leading member of a
reformist outfit called Zimbabwe Action.
Before the 2008 split we suspended Tigwe from
the ISO for secretly remaining as a leading member of MDC-T in Glen Norah against ISO resolutions. On readmission he was again soon re-
suspended for stealing organisation money,
triggering the December 2008 split. At the
time of the split we made it clear that the real
reasons why Mutero and Tigwe were leading
the split were crude opportunism, greedy
and taking advantage of a serious unevenness of ideological development in our organisation. The two wanted to turn ISO into
a quasi pro-MDC NGO to be used mainly as
a vehicle for accumulating money from imperialist donors and unsuspecting left international organisations because of the Zimbabwe crisis. Hence Tigwe is still in the MDC
-T Glen Norah district structures and even
worked in the MDC Constituency office
there.
One needs to go no further than the recent
flood of Mutero-Tigwe correspondences on
the internet to realise that there is nothing
fundamentally different between the two
other than concerns of who should have the
most advantageous position to plunder and
loot from unsuspecting regional or international left organisations and western imperialists.
.We shoulder the blame for having provided
a breeding ground for such opportunists by
failing to adequately develop our comrades
ideologically.
Firstly: The social composition of the ISO.
Before the year 2000 the ISO used to recruit
many of its members from organised labour,
i.e. trade unions and colleges and universities. From the year 2001 to 2009, which was
a period of extraordinary economic catastrophe in Zimbabwe, the ISO went through a
massive change in terms of its social composition. We could not continue depending on
recruiting from colleges and trade unions for
such ―institutions‖ were largely decimated by
the crisis. At the height of the economic and
social crisis in 2008, many colleges became
virtually closed or non-functional whilst many
―worker activists‖ left employment going into
the informal sector, rural areas or leaving the
country.
cadres at a time that was ripe for working class
resistance struggle .For survival we had no
option than to look for alternative ―islands of
life‖ that is social movements which mostly
were constituted of the unemployed women,
youths and AIDS/HIV activists, who whilst very
enthusiastic for struggle were very weak politically and ideologically and particularly vulnerable to the politics of commodification of resistance or bribes from donor – funded civic society groups. This meant we had a mixture of a
very small and ever decreasing layer of experienced comrades and a bigger layer of quite
inexperienced comrades.
The new situation posed on us two challenges :
that is attempting to train this newer and politically weak membership in a context of very low
class struggles and at the same time trying to
be visible in the broader democratic struggles
against the Zanu PF dictatorship.
Secondly, such high levels of ideological unevenness combined with rampant poverty
amongst comrades due to unemployment and
hyper-inflation and in the context of rampant
bribing of activists by the bourgeois opposition
and civic society groups, ―commodification of
resistance,‖ provided a fertile breeding ground
for opportunism, i.e. increasing pressure that
ISO be like the other social movements and
civic groups by providing ―something‖ for sustenance or survival for its members, especially
income generation projects and payment for
attending meetings and activities.
Thus it became very much easier for a clique of
opportunists in ISO to take advantage of the
desperation and underdevelopment amongst
many comrades to mobilise against the ISO
leadership and its revolutionary programme in
an attempt to turn around the ISO into an NGO
which they would use to lure donor money.
This is the context in which the October 2008
elections which were won by the opportunists
were done. However, the ISO principled leadership was able to subsequently win back the
support of the majority of members and
branches, leading the opportunists to split. In
this they were helped by the Cape Town based
This posed huge challenges for a tiny revoWIVL, which took an unprincipled and opporlutionary organisation, with an even more
tunist
position
to
back
them.
tiny cadreship base, that is losing its few
Continued on Page 8.
L OCAL
P AGE 8
NEWS
MUTERO AND TIGWE AT EACH OTHER’S THROATS . CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
This was done in the hope of recruiting a Zimbabwean sealed train under an arrangement with the the best of activists from the social
movements who were unshaken by the
section, a decision they have lately come to regret.
Germany imperial state in 1917.
winds of opportunism.
For our part in our desperate fight to get back hard-won The ISO has continued with its revolutionary
asserts necessary for revolutionary work but now in work of rebuilding a socialist, anti-imperialist Don‘t confuse the working class please.
danger of being sold for a penny by these opportunist and anti-neoliberal movement in Zimbabwe Viva Socialism!
renegades , we made some mistakes such as getting against a rapacious and neoliberal ruling
the comrades who had stolen virtually all our property, class represented in both parties of the rich National Co-ordinating Committee,
arrested and taking the disputes before the bourgeois and capitalists, Zanu PF and MDC. Today International Socialist Organisacourts. However, this was a desperate temporary ma- our focus is on rebuilding a new cadreship tion (ISO)
noeuvre and we withdrew the charges at the earliest increasingly drawn from a new radicalising
possible opportunity. Remember even, Bolshevik layer of students and workers as well as
POEM
leader V.I.Lenin was once travelled to Russia in a developing the ideological consciousness of
These Unruly Empires
Royalties-$88,
1m (7, 6%)
formation of a socialist workers party in Zimbabwe that is rooted in the day to day struggles
of the poor, workers and students.
If the man inside your poems dwells in
mansions
Multiple storey and bungalows well
roomed
You are forever doomed
But if he talks of poverty depriving girls
their morality
Making homesteads kindergartens of
stubborn shrieking bastards
Giving fathers and mothers premature
dotage
If he talks of the suppressed worker‘s
struggle
Oppression and repression that facilitates exploitation
Of neo-liberalism –a conduit to siphon
peoples funds
Of the vanished sceptres of liberty
The scimitars of censorship slicing
people‘s freedomThen you are well groomed
The wicked reign rains terror and pretended errors
Lies and cries characterise their eras
This system hurts, dislocates, and destroys
Throws and juggles the poor and workers like toys
The system kills, the system steals
―Let‘s rise up and fight against unruly
empires
That draws and sucks the blood of our
life like demonic vampires‖
250, 1m (16,
6%)
Cdes Lenin Chisaira & Oscar Simbi.
By Cde Judah Takaitei
WORKING CLASS BEWARE OF
A BOGUS BUDGET
11
CONTINUED FROM PAGE
DESIRABLE BUDGET?
Frankly, the budget allocations for the crucial
social services sector of education and health
are far from desirable neither do they meet
the crucial needs of these sectors. Education
demands in Zimbabwe go beyond $400m,
likewise with Health where no provision was
made for the availability of Anti-retroviral
Drugs. Penga Murwere Penga. But the
budget was never funded by people who rob
the nation of its wealth, ie, the rich capitalists
and pro-imperialist multinationals. The 2010
budget is being funded by the poor while the
rich benefits. A clear illustration is provided in
t h e
t a b l e
b e l o w :
2010 BUDGET.
Who pays
The Working
Class
The Bosses
Tax
VAT -$663,
3m (37%)
Corporate tax$162m (9%)
PAYE-$329,
8m (18, 4%)
993, 1m (55,
4%)
TOTAL
Minister of Finance,Tendai Biti (R)
So the Budget is being openly funded by the
working class and the poor as they go to
buy their daily bread(vat) and w2hen they
earn their salaries(pay as you earn) and not
capitalists who have stricken it rich in our
diamond fields of Chiadzwa or past opposition sponsors, the western imperialists..The
class war is advancing in Zimbabwe but
unfortunately the working class has not
been militant enough. Time is now ripe for the
L OCAL
P AGE 9
NEWS
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10
“…Thirdly, unlike the Patriotic Front, MDC
has no real fallback position if the deal collapses. Its only guarantor is a mediator who
has now been ousted. Having consistently
neutralized the mass action route, MDC has
solely relied on the western sanctions. But
MDC is not in full control of this. Locked in a
hotel room and virtually coerced by Mbeki
and Mugabe to sign there and then or risk
immediate collapse of the negotiations,
Tsvangirai seems to have signed a deal that
does not meet the full approval of his western allies...
“With economic siege continuing, especially
in an environment of global economic crisis,
the deal looks very fragile and may unravel
sooner rather than later. Popular acceptance of such an expensive and over bloated
coalition government, proportionately the
biggest in the world in a country with the
world’s highest inflation, is likely to wane
rapidly if the promised economic recovery
fails to take place, with the draft national
constitution a possible flash point. At such
stage Mugabe’s continued control of the
security apparatus, the state and treasury
will be decisive and the opposition’s nakedness and foolishness in signing such deal
exposed.”
Socialist Worker (Z), January 2009
The above prediction has indeed come to pass.
The GNU saved the Zanu PF dictatorship from an
impending social, economic and political implosion
as foreshadowed by collapsing public utilities and
rioting junior soldiers. The hyper-inflation dragon
was tamed and Zimbabwe‘s international isolation
largely removed. Tsvangirai himself went the
world over, as recent as September 2010 in an
interview with South African E-News, preaching
about how Mugabe had reformed, was a wellmeaning statesman worried about his legacy and
so forth. He has now turned and is bleating a different song!
We now in fact seem to be reaching the point
predicted when Mugabe, no longer needing the
GNU would flex his muscles and wee on the GNU.
With a fairly stabilized economy, and Tsvangirai
having de-mobilized and confused his supporters,
the hardliners in the Mugabe regime are now
again on the ascendancy and clearly on the offensive, using the constitutional question as the
launch-pad. Mugabe has now called for elections
saying the GNU has become intolerable for him
and his Zanu PF. Prime Minister Tsvangirai has
also told his supporters to prepare for elections in
2011, although he is insisting that these will
be under a new constitution. Although Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has
said this is grandstanding, events in the last
few weeks show that the momentum for
elections might be gathering its own pace
and with increasing possibility could in fact
happen.
Why Elections in 2011
Why is Mugabe pushing for elections when
he lost in March 2008 and when recent polls
show the MDC-T winning with 32% and
Mugabe at 18%? It would seem following the
COPAC outreach exercise, the hardliners in
Zanu PF have become convinced that the
system they put in place with devastating
effect in June 2008 is still intact and that
threats of return to such violence could land
them victory. Moreover, they calculate the
impact of the protest vote for the opposition
arising from the massive economic crisis of
2008 has gone down whilst MDC-T seems
to be focusing on their factional fighting.
The recent events show that Mugabe and
Zanu PF have no desire to leave power
soon or peacefully. The discovery of diamonds, the growth in agriculture and the
economic indigenisation programme will
require an appropriate enabling political
framework that can only be provided by
untrammeled Zanu PF control of the state.
Even though Zanu PF is talking about
peaceful campaign next year‘s elections are
likely to be characterized by state orchestrated violence, intimidation and the manipulation of the results to ensure a Mugabe
victory.
What this means is that the struggle for democratization in Zimbabwe is far from being
won. What is now required is a united force
of all progressive forces to build independently and renew both political and economical struggles against the Zanu PF dictatorship as well as the neoliberal capitalist
agenda of the ruling class in Zimbabwe. This
movement must also not have any illusions
in the MDC-T or MDC-M, whose leaders
have shown themselves not only to be
greedy self-interested and cowardly junior
partners of the dictatorship but also have
been at the forefront of pushing massive neo
-liberal policies that attack ordinary people.
They are a cowardly and vacillating lot,
one day wining with the dictatorship
and the other mourning about victimization. It is hoped that the latest events
will show increasing layers of ordinary
MDC-T supporters of the need for a
resolute and decisive battle for democracy against the regime and capitalism.
The proposed Referendum can be
used as a launch-pad for a bitter fight
with the system of neo-liberalism and
tyranny which must clearly go beyond
the constitutional making process.
Given the dominance of the COPAC
Outreach programme by Zanu PF
through manipulation and intimidation,
it is likely that its positions on an all
powerful executive president and noninclusion of socio-economic rights will
prevail. In any case both MDC formations are now calling for a negotiated
constitution, which is likely to be based
on the anti-working people Kariba Draft
which contains neoliberal anti-working
class provisions. If the MDC-T was
really sincere it would have called for
contentious provisions to be put directly as questions for decision in the
Referendum. But it isn‘t and seeks to
lie to the people that it will facilitate the
writing of a new constitution on getting
into power. For the above reasons,
now that we have exposed in practice
the hypocrisy of the elites, we should
now start preparing to reject the likely
elitist, neoliberal and undemocratic
constitution they are brewing…. As we
argued in our posters with our interests
not included we must mobilize for a
Vote No in the Referendum as part and
parcel of building a general and united
anti-dictatorship and anti-capitalist
uprising in this country. It is time we
learn from our mistakes as ordinary
people that our struggles were hijacked
when the MDC was formed. This time
we have to do away with the capitalist
system and join hands with other fighting working peoples of the world such
as we see in France, Greece and
South Africa who are also revolting
against the system this day. Viva Socialism!
Cde T. Sando
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE
A LONG WALK TO
FREEDOM!
Several significant events on the political and
constitutional framework of the country have
occurred in recent months. Firstly have been
the controversies surrounding the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (COPAC) outreach exercise carried out from June 2010 to
date. Secondly is the crisis in the Government
of National Unity (GNU) following various unilateral state executive appointments by President Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
The growing arrogance of Mugabe and ZANUPF and the crisis facing the GNU is not surprising and we had predicted right from the inception of the GPA in September 2008:
Political Crisis in Zimbabwe
The GNU is facing its biggest crisis since its
inception, following the unilateral reappointment of provincial governors and Ambassadors by Mugabe. This has been one of
the main outstanding issues of the Global Political Agreement (GPA), which was supposed to
be resolved by SADC and the AU, the guarantors of the GPA. The prime minister and MDC-T
president Morgan Tsvangirai responded by
declaring that he and his party did not recognize not only such appointments but others that
Mugabe had unilaterally done in the last 18
months, including appointments of the Reserve
Bank Governor; Attorney General; five High
Court and Supreme Court Judges and several
ambassadors to the UN, Europe and SA. He
has since written to these various authorities
formally informing them of his position. Mugabe
and the state media have ridiculed Tsvangirai,
with Mugabe saying this is why it was now
“…
mandatory to have elections by mid- 2011 and
do away with the GNU that has become to him
an unbearable hindrance.
“… (The MDC – T leaders’) primary
preoccupation is towards reaching a
sell out agreement with the Zanu PF
dictatorship that will not benefit the poor
and working people … the opposition is
dominated by the petite bourgeois elite,
who long ago prostrated themselves
before western neo-liberal forces and
are now eager to get into state power,
even as junior partners, and accumulate as a neo-colonial dependent capitalist class...”
―On the other hand Tsvangirai, supported by a duplicitous and largely
cowardly civic society, actively undermined any attempt at serious mass
action solely relying on western sanctions.
Not surprising they have been forced
into a deal which gives a desperate
dictatorship breathing space to renew
itself, whilst laying the foundations for
massive long term assaults on the
living conditions of working people.
Make no mistake, despite the above
concessions; MDC is the definite junior
in this deal with very unclear chances
of success whilst the future of the deal
itself is very uncertain…
Continued on Page 9
LET’S BUILD THE REVOLUTIONARY PARTY.JOIN US!
BY PHONE: 04-704 209
BY E-MAIL:[email protected]
By POST:Box 6758 Harare
Or VISIT US AT:1st Fl, Crossroads Building,43 J Nyerere way, Harare.
Socialist
Worker!
A REVOLUTIONARY ANTI-CAPITALIST
PAPER IN ZIMBABWE
[email protected]
What the ISO stands for
SOCIALISM
Capitalism is a system of exploitation which generates
inequality, crisis and war. Although workers create society‘s
wealth, it is controlled and consumed by the ruling class.
Socialism can only be built if the working class takes control
of social wealth and democratically plan its production and
distribution to meet human needs, not private profits.
SOCIALISM FROM BELOW
The working class is the most powerful class in the struggle
for socialism. We stand for their alliance with all other oppressed social classes in particular with peasants and the
urban poor.
Socialism can only be attained by the mass self activity of
workers such as strikes and demonstrations.
We support trade unions as essential to the fight for worker‘s
economic and political rights.
REVOLUTION NOT REFORM
Reforms within the capitalist system cannot end oppression
and exploitation. Capitalism must be overthrown.
Contrary to what is said by middle class opposition parties,
institutions like parliament, the army, police and the courts
are not neutral things that can just be taken over by the
workers. Reformists fight for reforms as an end in themselves, whilst we accept reforms only in so far as they increase the confidence of the working class in order to smash
the entire capitalist system
INTERNATIONALISM
Workers in every country are exploited by capitalism, so the
struggle for socialism is global.
We campaign for solidarity with workers in all countries. We
are internationalist because socialism depends on spreading
working class revolutions across the world.
OPPOSITION TO OPPRESSION
Capitalism divided the working class using sexual, tribal,
racial and national distinctions. The specially oppressed
groups within the working class suffer the most under capitalism.
We oppose the oppression of women, minority tribes and
ethnic groups and gays and lesbians. We fight for real social,
economic and political equality of women including access to
safe abortion facilities. We call for an end to discrimination
against gays.
REVOLUTIONARY PARTY
To achieve socialism the most militant sections of the
working class have to be organized into a mass revolutionary party. We are in the early stages of building such a
party through involvement in the day to day struggles of
workers, students and the oppressed.
If you like our ideas and socialism COME join us!